Oh man. I do so love having some time off. Creative juices are flowing all over the place! :D



First time knitting on the round, and the first time knitting ribbing.

This will be a legwarmer eventually!

Ugh, I should go to bed, but I'm on a roll! :P

So, uh, I played with makeup again today. It's addictive!

( I attempted the cute white kitten, aka Victoria, this time! )

Ohhh, to-day was a cake made of badness--a triple-layer Bad cake with Bad frosting and a Badberry jam filling. I hate filled cakes.

Woke up at seven for Anthro, seriously considered skipping, did not skip, got my exam back, and then got into a fight with the professor. >_< Because she stated that band societies were totally egalitarian, and then went on to say that in band societies men were considered expendable. I asked how they could then be egalitarian. She said because men's work was valued as much as women's. I said that wasn't what I was asking. She said that I was missing the point. I said that it didn't seem possible to state that a society was egalitarian and then say the lives of a portion of that society were valued less. She said that they didn't see it that way. I said that it wasn't a question of how they viewed it, it still wasn't egalitarian. She said that I just wanted to argue with her. I wished that I had skipped class after all.

...anyway, I did skip French so I could work on my philosophy paper, which is due Friday. I worked on it for six hours, stopping only to go to Religion, and to go to supper at the Chinese restaurant with Charlie, Liz, Phil, Matt, Shawn, and Liz's friends.

Shawn was surprisingly nice. Charlie was an asshole and made me have an anxiety attack. Then we went to Wal*Mart and I had another anxiety attack because Wal*Mart is fucking huge and I had to go sit in the foyer and breathe into my hands. Charlie was so asshole-y that he actually apologised for his behaviour, something he has literally never done before, and that includes the time he punched me for surprising him when I was a freshman. It did not help, incidentally. He is no longer a Safe person, and honestly this is a time I can ill afford to be losing Safe people. I don't get them all that often. Now I feel sick to my stomach when I'm around him.

Then I worked on the essay until eleven, when Michelle kidnapped me and we reached the high point of the day, which was her reading to me and Maggie (we finished our book!). And now it's one a.m., I haven't checked any of my sites, I'm still not done with the goddamn essay (I have all eight pages of text, but I still have to organise and clarify and basically make them not suck), and I need to get to bed because I have therapy to-morrow morning which I probably need, not least because I really don't want to go to it. I am going through one of those squicky periods where I really really hate talking to a therapist.

...I am going to go lie in my bed and hate everything. I haven't even gotten any other homework done for any of my other classes because of this.

The Chuck Lorre Productions page at the end of Big Bang Theory is not just small print, but a bit of discussion and humor from Chuck.

We try to be good, so we often purchase reusable store bags.

Today at BevMo, they had their reusable bag on sale for 80 cents. So I added one to my purchase pile.

Clerk rings things up and asks if I want him "to break down the 6 pack of cider and put it in the bag."

No need, it's easy carry without a bag.

He then proceeds to put the store bag and my other purchases in a plastic bag.

( The Daily Tweets of JohnO )

I finally finished my tail, and I also played with makeup today!

( Photos under here! )

Very packed and busy weekend caught up with me.

Sat Morning: Rehearsal for Next Week's Taiko show.
Sat Afternoon: Clean-up Dojo and prep all the equipment for Sunday's Dress Rehearsals.
Sat Night: Avalon Rising St Patty's Day party.

Sunday: Dress Rehearsal for Taiko Show.
2 full run throughs, with only a 30 minute break between them.

Went out for Pizza afterwards.

Came home took 1/2 a vicodin, because my knee and back were screaming

Around 11pm, the V kicked in and I crashed hard.

( The Daily Tweets of JohnO )

I sent in my application a while ago for roles in a G&S marathon sing that happens annually, but now I'm listening to Patience straight through for the first time and thinking of revising it. Mabel was my first choice and Patience my second, but I'm not 100% sure anymore. Mabel has a higher range, which I can absolutely do, and there's space for coloratura antics, but..."Love is a plaintive song" is so pretty!

I probably won't end up changing any of my choices, but yeah.

...always such a joy to be attacked by one of your best friends, and accused of not caring.

Sure makes you feel appreciated.

Fuck that.

*goes back to concentrating on finishing the tail*

I wrote a poem! At two-thirty last night! Ha.

( Swan Song )

Last night, the internet turned up for me the most amazing thing: it's a 1997 BBC adaptation of Ivanhoe. With Ciaran Hinds as Brian de Bois-Guilbert, the evil Norman Templar. It's a faithful adaptation, by which I mean it's entirely campy and ridiculous. I think if you took a production of Ivanhoe that played it completely straight, and one which embraced the ridiculitude, you would end up with basically the same thing.

Anyway, beautiful Norman/Saxon divides, beautiful wilful princesses, poor King (well, Prince) John (who is not a good man. When he finds out Richard is unkidnapped, he sits by his fireplace in his nightgown, looking for all the world as though he's just hung a hopeful stocking out. The problem with that is: you bring up that poem and I lose all ability to see John as a villain and just want to give him a whole crate-load of big red India-rubber balls).

(...shut up)

When John finds out Richard is unkidnapped and is frantically trying to think of ways to depose him, one of his counselor's first thoughts is that Queen Eleanor will help them. :D

It's been years and years since I read Ivanhoe, so I've mostly forgotten the plot -- something to do with princesses in towers, evil Templars, a tournament, a Black Knight, mistaken identities, Robin Hood by every other name, and Rebecca = awesome. And I've only watched the first episode, but already the ~hilarious misunderstandings have begun and Robin Hood hasn't even turned up yet and eeee. Bestworst. :D

(PS I am pretty sure Sir Walter Scott was somehow descended from the Scotts in Lymond. So we can indirectly thank Lord Buccleuch for this.)

I would just like to say, after reading Countdown to Infinite Crisis -- I have proof that Ted and Booster are dating/at least somewhat closer than your average bear. What, you ask?

This. Booster withdraws money from Ted's bank account. Now, see, in NORMAL PEOPLE world, you withdraw money from the bank account of your spouse, or your mom, or maybe even your boyfriend or girlfriend. Soooo yeah. I SHALL POST SCANS OF THIS when I am not at work.

...Also, Booster looks damn hot out of uniform.

( The Daily Tweets of JohnO )

"Movement Song"
Audre Lorde

I have studied the tight curls on the back of your neck
moving away from me
beyond anger or failure
your face in the evening schools of longing
through mornings of wish and ripen
we were always saying goodbye
in the blood in the bone over coffee
before dashing for elevators going
in opposite directions
without goodbyes.

Do not remember me as a bridge nor a roof
as the maker of legends
nor as a trap
door to that world
where black and white clericals
hang on the edge of beauty in five oclock elevators
twitching their shoulders to avoid other flesh
and now
there is someone to speak for them
moving away from me into tomorrows
morning of wish and ripen
your goodbye is a promise of lightning
in the last angels hand
unwelcome and warning
the sands have run out against us
we were rewarded by journeys
away from each other
into desire
into mornings alone
where excuse and endurance mingle
conceiving decision.
Do not remember me
as disaster
nor as the keeper of secrets
I am a fellow rider in the cattle cars
watching
you move slowly out of my bed
saying we cannot waste time
only ourselves.

"Forever"
Jason Flatowicz

You said you'd
never fall down
the stairs again,
so I tripped you,
to remind you
there is no way
to control your
destiny as long
as I hold you
back, and that's
why I flew away,
giving you time
to escape until
it was time for
us to meet
again, and we
will meet again,
over and over.

So my friends David and Sarah are in town, which is all kinds of fantastic. We saw Next to Normal last night (and I saw Red yesterday afternoon, which was quite the intense double feature, believe you me). So friends, a double whammy of good theatre, and visiting my alma mater on Wednesday has made for an emotional but good couple of days.

Now, before I return to the job hunt, an obscene number of youtube videos for you.

( Videospam )

Not a sinus infection after all apparently. Doc says it's probably a virus making my glands swell and there's no sign of infection or need for antibiotics. Rest, fluids and anti-inflammatory OTC meds like Aleve or ibuprofen were her recommendation - so I took a big bottle of water to rock climbing. :P

Aleve does seem to be helping some. I still feel like I have demonically enhanced mosquito bites and the hearing in my right ear is a little muffled, but at least the swelling in my neck went down enough to stop irritating my throat.

*shrug* Suppose I'm not going to complain about not having something seriously wrong.

I can now call myself a farmer. Ha. Well, I need 4 months more of practical work before I get my diploma, buuut I got my hat and stuff today, so.

A few photos from today here.

Also, Torben loved the painting :) ♥